Site Certifications Needed For Fpl Nuclear Plants Water Agreement

By Ashley Hopkins Miami-Dade County and Florida Power & Light Co. are pairing up on a reclaimed water agreement for two proposed nuclear units at Turkey Point — and just a few site certifications keep the project from going vertical.

As part of the county’s 20-year water use permit from the South Florida Water Management District, Miami-Dade must increase its use of reclaimed water to more than 170 million gallons a day by 2025.

The FPL-county agreement would require the county to clean and send up to 90 million gallons of treated water to the plant each day, amounting to more than 50% of its daily goal, said Doug Yoder, deputy director of the county’s Water & Sewer Department. After reaching Turkey Point, the water would be re-cleaned and used to cool the nuclear units.

Radial collector wells would act as a backup source if reclaimed water was not available or couldn’t reach the plant.

Before construction can begin, FPL must obtain state and local certification and permits.

FPL has secured a zoning approval from Miami-Dade and a need order from the Florida Public Service Commission, said Mayco Villafaña, an FPL spokesman. The body has applied for site certification with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and for a permit with the Army Corps of Engineers. FPL has also filed a combined license application for a permit with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Mr. Villafaña said that he expects FPL to receive state certification by 2013. If all goes according to plan, the two nuclear units at Turkey Point could be complete by 2022 and 2023.

According to the proposed agreement, the county is to cover the cost of materials and labor for the nine miles of pipeline needed to deliver water from the South District Wastewater Treatment Plan to Turkey Point as well as for ancillary facilities at the plant.

This amount cannot exceed $78 million and a maximum escalation of 4% per year, until FPL is reimbursed for all material and labor costs and the pipeline is conveyed by the county.

Under the agreement, FPL would pay any additional expenses, along with all maintenance and the cost of pumping reclaimed water to Turkey Point.To read the entire issue of Miami Today online, subscribe to e -Miami Today, an exact digital replica of the printed edition.